May the Best Man Win

July 4, 2016
This flimsy contemporary romance set in Chicago relies heavily on the hero’s inability to communicate. Emily Klein will never forgive Jase Foster for betraying their high school friendship, but avoiding him as an adult is not an option: his friends keep marrying her friends. At a wedding where he stands as the best man, she’s the maid of honor, making it doubly hard to get through the evening in a civilized fashion. Both Jase and Emily are one-dimensional characters, though Jase has slightly more depth, scarred by his mother’s abandonment and fixated on Emily’s past misdeeds. Jase has always had a weakness for Emily’s smile and legs, and when they hook up for a one-night stand, the chemistry is explosive. However, he doesn’t talk to Emily about his growing feelings, he avoids his father because he doesn’t want to discuss his mother, and he encourages his friend to walk out on his wife and baby instead of working out problems. There’s not much to recommend this romance other than the cast of friends, who have more personality and witty one-liners than the protagonists. It’s clear from the heavy-handed setup that those side characters will return in future sequels, which may be more entertaining than this one. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency.